Small mural on paper /Suminagashi in light blue / Delicate green / Beige and black / modern art / contemporary selling art

Small mural on paper /Suminagashi in light blue / Delicate green / Beige and black / modern art / contemporary art / Annette Mewes-Thoms

- Suminagashi - is an ancient Japanese and very exciting artistic technique on a water surface. Each Suminagashi is the capture of a unique moment.
This small picture impresses with its delicate colors selling in light blue / soft green / beige and black or gray. The ring-shaped lines
are the hallmark of a Suminagashi. The picture has no title, because the viewer is allowed to see in it what he wants to see in it.

You will receive an original handmade Suminagashi in the colors light blue / soft green / beige and black on white paper in white passepartout:
External dimensions 24 x 30 cm / Internal dimensions 12 x 17 cm
Year of origin 2022
Artist: Annette Mewes-Thoms


For a Suminagashi, you drip paint onto a water surface.
For a while, this floats as a splash of paint on top.
With natural forces such as wind and vibration, you can get the splash of color moving so that it changes its appearance.
With a little chemistry, it can be transformed into a ring. If one ring is placed in the other, the typical pattern of the
Suminagashi, which looks as if a drop of water has just hit the surface of the water.

However, a motif cannot be properly controlled. Chance plays an important role and rebuilds the created again and again in no time at all.
So you need a lot of peace and patience.

To transfer the motif to a piece of paper, you place it on the water surface at the right moment.
The draft created during hang-up changes the motif one last time. Then the paper absorbs the paint.


Inspired by traditional Suminagashi, the practice of artist Annette Mewes-Thoms is a respectful but experimental exploration
based on modern paints and papers.

It took several years for her to find her own artistic expression of Suminagashi.

The exact origin of this technique is not known.
The oldest surviving coloured paper dates from the Japanese Heian period around 1122.

In Japan, elaborately refined paper has played a special role for dragons, fans, window and door panels and also for writing for centuries.

The Suminagashi was long reserved for the nobility and means flowing ink. On the marbled papers, made in tunk technique and according to secret recipes, was written. At the time, these documents were considered forgery-proof.